FDIC to Force Banksto Spy on Customers

Citizen Tracking Will Mark All Comers

Moving with all the determination and tact
of a Third World dictatorship, the United States government has
contrived yet another measure to track and control the activities of
all its citizens. This time it is the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC) that is planning a "know your customer" rule which
forces banks to spy on their customers and will potentially restrict
cash transactions. This measure follows other police state proposals
such as the national ID card, medical
enumeration, and the airline passenger profiling system (CAPS) that
went into operation January 1st of this year. As the Draconian year
2000 approaches, privacy-destroying laws seem to be propagating like
rabbits.

As proposed, the regulation would require each
nonmember bank to develop a program designed to determine the
identity of its customers; determine its customers' source of funds;
determine the normal and expected transactions of its customers;
monitor account activity for transactions that are inconsistent with
those normal and expected transactions; and report any transactions
of its customers that are determined to be suspicious, in accordance
with the FDIC's existing suspicious activity reporting regulation. By
requiring insured nonmember banks to determine the identity of their
customers, as well as to obtain knowledge regarding the legitimate
activities of their customers, the proposed regulation will reduce
the likelihood that insured nonmember banks will become unwitting
participants in illicit activities conducted or attempted by their
customers. It will also level the playing field between institutions
that already have adopted formal "Know Your Customer" programs, and
those that have not.

If enacted, this proposal will force
banks, at their own expense, to develop a customer "profiling"
mechanism that tracks the banking habits of all their customers.
Banks already report transactions over $10,000, but the new
requirement would apply to all "suspicious" activity as determined by
the FDIC's profiling parameters[2]. These
parameters are mandated by the FDIC and given to the bank to
implement in their own system.

According to the initial summary, the FDIC
will require banks to determine the identity of its customers.
Judging from the character of this proposed rule, this may well
include biometric identifiers. A photo ID, such as a driver's
license, is already required to open an account. The bank will have
to determine where the customers' funds came from. These new
requirements open up broad possibilities for interrogations like:
"Where did you get this cash, Mr. Jones? This is not a payroll check.
Can you tell us why and where you received it? I'm sorry, we had to
report you to the DEA because you withdrew too much cash last
Friday." Cash will be treated with suspicion, further stigmatizing it
as something used only by drug dealers and criminals. Finally, banks
will act as agents of the government, monitoring their customers'
transactions and reporting them when they deviate from their
established profile.

Profiling is the rage in governance today.
A government bureaucrat arbitrarily decides what kinds of behavior
indicate "illicit activity" and creates a "profile" or pattern from
those factors. Huge volumes of data, bits and pieces of our everyday
lives, are fed into computers that scan the information and look for
patterns of activity that match those profiles. Once a person is
"flagged" by a profiling system, he/she essentially must prove that
he/she is innocent of wrongdoing. Profiling is practiced by some
banks already, but "Know Your Customer" will make it mandatory for
all[3].

The Christian Alert Network (TCAN), the
organization which broke the news of the FDIC "Know Your Customer"
proposal, also points to the trends in electronic deposits as
something that will become universal. Electronic deposits are already
mandatory for military retirees, requiring them to have a bank
account to be paid. Soon all government payments will be made
electronically, whether to military personnel, civilian employees,
beneficiaries or vendors. TCAN is also predicting that new laws will
soon be passed requiring that all employers pay their employees
electronically[4].

The End of Cash (and privacy)

The trends are headed ominously toward a
cashless society where all transactions are controlled and monitored
by the government. Smart, debit and credit cards will become the new
legal tender. Opening a bank account, presenting federally approved
identification and biometric data, and submitting to monitoring and
profiling will be the only way to earn a living and purchase the
necessities of life. This was confirmed by an anonymous bank branch
president in an interview with WorldNet Daily
[5]. This banker predicted that new laws would soon
limit cash transactions to $100 and that sometime in the near future
all transactions would be handled electronically. The opportunities
that technology has provided government and corporations for the
micromanaging of every person is astounding.

At this point it should be noted that
since the 1930's Americans have depended on a fiat paper currency
that is not backed by gold or anything of value, except the faith
people put in it. The new cashless system will further reduce money
to a series of electronic impulses and computer ledger entries while
completely removing any tangible control of it from its rightful
owner. Money will never leave the bank -- accounts will merely be
adjusted to reflect a transaction. With this in mind, we should
consider the words of Robert H. Hemphill, former credit manager of
the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta, Georgia, whose warning about our
worthless, debt-based paper currency is even more applicable now. He
said:

This is a staggering thought. We are completely
dependent on the commercial Banks .... If the Banks create ample
synthetic money, we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are
absolutely without a permanent money system. When one gets a complete
grasp of the picture, the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position
is almost incredible, but there it is. It is the most important
subject intelligent persons can investigate and reflect upon. It is
so important that our present civilization may collapse unless it
becomes widely understood and the defects remedied very soon
[6].

Airline Passenger Profiling, Internal Passports and Travel Papers

One month after the
TWA flight 800 disaster,
President Clinton signed Executive Order 13015 which established the
White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. Never one to
miss an opportunity to advance the police state, President Clinton
used the crash to launch a new "domestic security" initiative, even
though there was no evidence that TWA 800 was brought down because of
poor airport security. The public bought it and the job of "airline
safety czar" was assigned to Vice-President Al Gore.

Gore's commission met and concluded, amid
the frenzy of the still unsolved TWA disaster, that there exists an
urgent need to track every single passenger who boards a commercial
flight in the United States. Gore called for immediate implementation
of the 1990 Aviation Security Improvement Act which requires airlines
to keep comprehensive passenger manifests. Although the FAA doesn't
specifically require airlines to check ID before boarding, they took
the hint and started checking it anyway[7].

As of October 1, 1998, airlines started
requesting passenger's next of kin and contact phone number on
international flights leaving or arriving at U.S. destinations. There
are also plans to request this on domestic flights in the near
future. Even though at present this information is voluntary, critics
foresee that it will become mandatory and will be included with
social security numbers (SSNs)[8],
photographs, biometric identifiers[9] and the
like. All this, of course, is to notify your next of kin faster if
you die in an air disaster and to guarantee your safety.

Family notification info and photo ID at
check-in are converging with the Computer Assisted Passenger
Screening System (CAPS), a centralized airline passenger database
which is up and running as of January 1, 1998
[10]. Northwest Airlines tested this passenger
profiling system for the FAA in 1997, collecting over forty pieces of
information about each passenger such as credit card numbers, home
address and phone number, travel patterns, hotels, car rentals,
expected length of stay at destination, traveling companions, whether
the ticket was purchased in advance or shortly before departure, and
if payment was made with cash or credit card
[11].

The CAPS computer compares this personal
information with secret profiles the government deems to be security
risks. If you match one of those profiles -- perhaps you have an Arab
surname or pay your fare in cash at the ticket counter -- CAPS will
flag your name and the airline, acting in accordance with FAA
directives but not burdened by constitutional restrictions will
subject you to increased security measures.

Once you have been identified as a
security threat, you may be subjected to intrusive personal
questioning and a thorough search of your luggage in front of other
passengers, being tagged with bright orange tape, physically escorted
from ticket counter to airport gate by security personnel, or refused
service -- all in full view of other passengers. This may happen
because you fit a secret profile which is based on everyday,
non-criminal activity[12].

Al Gore's commission report also proposed
that the massive CAPS database be linked with law enforcement
databases, greatly expanding the volume of information available on
each passenger. For such a system to profile passengers effectively,
critics claim, the government would have to create a file, or
dossier, on every potential passenger in the United States
[13]. That includes everyone. The main component for
this dossier already exists with the SSN. When SSNs finally become
part of air travel (for our own safety, of course) it will dovetail
conveniently with another DOT requirement -- that all state drivers'
licenses display the bearer's SSN, biometric information, and a
scannable bar code or magnetic strip.

Within a few months air travelers could be
offered faster check-in. Imagine -- just run your federally approved
driver's license through the scanner and put your palm on the reader.
The airline computer instantly queries the CAPS database, verifies
your biometric data and SSN, queries the FBI's NCIC computer for a
background check, compares your itinerary to previous flights you've
taken, reports your hotel and car reservation, enters your full name,
date of birth, SSN and name and phone number of next of kin into the
passenger manifest and other data fields. Within seconds (provided
you are a normal person and haven't tripped any flags) you have
completed the FAA's security requirements for boarding.

States Bribed to Gather Information for Feds

By dangling funds for welfare and child
support enforcement programs, the federal government has enticed many
states into requiring SSNs for all state-issued licenses including
occupation, hunting, fishing, and, of course, driver's licenses.
States that take the federal bait must also require employers to
report the name, address, SSN and wage information of new employees
within a few days of hire. The states funnel this information into
the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) at Health and Human
Services in Washington, which maintains the National Directory of New
Hires. This is one of the largest databases ever kept by a government
on its people[14].

Following federal measures to catch
so-called deadbeat parents came
another measure to ostensibly deal with illegal immigration. Buried
in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
(1996) is section 656(b) which requires all states to issue driver's
licenses that comply with federal standards by October 1, 2000. Along
with the bearer's SSN, the license must display biometric identifiers
such as fingerprints, retina scans and DNA prints. The National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration has already published the
requirements for the "Driver's License/SSN/National Identification
Document" which sets out the rules for state issued identity
documents.

Due to public outcry Congress delayed
funding for the new DOT driver's license requirements for one year.
This delay will in no way diminish the progress of information
gathering done at HHS, which is every bit as intrusive and Orwellian
as the proposed national ID card. No matter how you slice it, federal
government computers are already tracking where we live, work, how
much we make and, before long, watching and controlling what we buy
and sell.

The Big Shift: Guilty until Proven Innocent

Assured that their government is taking
strong action against terrorists, deadbeats and drug dealers, most
Americans have failed to note their country's fundamental shift.
There was a time when your name entered police records in a limited
number of instances, e.g., if you were a suspect or a victim of a
crime. Criminal records were only kept on those persons that had been
convicted in a court of law for a specific crime.

The shift was almost imperceptible because
it was supported by advances in technology and leveraged by
convenience -- the highest good in our society today. State and
federal records are merging, as are the various classes of records --
occupational and driver's licenses with child support records,
criminal records with occupational, selective service and income tax
with child support, passenger profiling with airline reservations and
criminal records -- just to name a few examples. The great task of
making all these records available electronically requires the
standardization of forms, which is required by the GATT. It also
requires a unique identifier for every man, woman and child. This
identifier is the social security number which the GATT requires be
assigned to every child at birth.

It is becoming impossible to function as a
member of this society without surrendering information that should
be personal -- data that is fed into centralized government records
and used to monitor your behavior. It is not evidence of any criminal
wrongdoing that interests the government about you -- it is the fact
that you exist. Every man, woman and child must be subject to this
gigantic electronic fishing expedition. You are investigated, not
after a crime has occurred and you are somehow involved, but because
a computer profile has pointed the finger of suspicion at you and
based its assessment of your non-criminal habits. The burden now
rests on you to prove your innocence and because the punishment may
mean being interrogated and searched at the airport, harassed at the
bank, or your cash or automobile being seized by a drug task force,
you may never have your day in court unless you go to the expense of
hiring a lawyer to sue. In short, all are searched and tracked and
those accused are guilty until proven innocent. This is what it means
to live in a police state.

police state: a political
unit characterized by repressive governmental control of political,
economic, and social life usually by an arbitrary exercise of power
by police and especially secret police in the place of regular
operation of administrative and judicial organs of the government
according to publicly known legal procedures. --
Merriam Webster's Dictionary

****

The Mark of the Beast

The evils of tyranny are rarely
seen but by him who resists it. -- John Hay, 1872

Politicians, bureaucrats and news anchors
all tell us about the wonderful new tools being developed in the "war
on crime." We'll all be safer from fraud, terrorism, and drug dealers
who want to sell drugs to our children. Deadbeats and tax evaders
will be forced to pay what they owe, and the world will be a safer,
better place. These are lies, lies, lies. All lies!

Computer profiles, numeric identifiers,
tracking every person from cradle to grave -- this is all about
controlling people, not fighting crime. Once this massive
surveillance and debit card system is in place the governing elite
will naturally expand their definition of crime. For example, the
"human rights" tribunal in Canada has the power to prosecute
"hate crimes", a term loosely
defined as words or actions that cause hatred or contempt of a
special, identifiable group. Questioning the official version of
history, speaking out against abortion or homosexuality, shielding
your children from the perversity of multi-cultural studies, or
maintaining a strict biblical worldview -- these acts could all be
construed as "hate crimes." Your church or family may be classed as
anti-government since you do not willingly voice the opinion of the
politically correct, but oppose it.

Once Americans are placed under these
tribunals and financial transactions are limited to debit cards,
technology will undoubtedly enable these kangaroo courts to impose
economic sanctions against individuals who commit hate crimes. "We're
sorry, Mr. Jones" reads the screen of a point-of-sale terminal at
Safeway, "Your debit card has been reclassified by the sanctions
bureau. Reason: hate speech violation during gay pride day, failure
to complete diversity training as ordered by the human rights
tribunal. Status: rations cut to five pounds of beans per month, no
other purchases permitted including gasoline." While methods may vary
from this illustration, we may be certain they will exceed our worst
nightmare. Technology is now being used to reach that ancient
objective of absolute power.

The Holy Bible uses the imagery of wild
beasts to describe earthly governments. These beasts are powerful
creatures with fangs, claws and horns. Naturally, they live by the
laws of brute force and have no ability to reason. A beast of the
apocalypse accurately portrays the entrenched socialist establishment
that rules the world today. They have nothing but contempt for
God-given rights and the rule of law. The only law they know is that
of force -- a diabolical mind-set that will once again lead them to
exterminate millions in the name of their statist religion.

And he causeth all, both small
and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their
right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell,
save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of
his name. Revelation 13:16,18.

When this beast attempts to number and
track all human beings for the sake of controlling their lives and
their beliefs, this number is called a "mark" which is meant to
control what we think (in our forehead) and what we do (in our hand).
The Bible teaches obedience to civil authority until the "beast"
tries to take the place of God and put his mark of ownership on us.
When that happens we are enjoined by the Bible to commit civil
disobedience and refuse "the mark." Like the three Hebrew men in the
book of Daniel, we cannot bow before the image of the beast and give
the worship that is reserved for God alone. Only He who numbers the
hairs on our head -- the Creator of our species and Originator of our
rights -- alone possesses the right to watch and record our every
action. The Bible warns:

If anyone worships the beast and
his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he
also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in
full strength in the cup of his anger ... and they have no rest day
and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever
receives the mark of his name. Revelation 14:9-11.

As of 11-29-98 the FDIC has not published its proposal in the Federal Register and, therefore, its first public draft is not yet official. This news of this forthcoming proposal was released by a member of Congress.